Bistro Lemon Chicken

Ryan and I have been on a mission to clean out our freezer/fridge/pantry, and turn into semi-vegetarians. I had some leftover chicken breasts and legs and made them into a quick dinner on Sunday night.

First, get your favorite heavy-bottomed (oven-proof) pan super hot and set your oven to 400F. Put a little oil or Pam in your pan. Then, clean your chicken. I had chicken breasts on the bone, but use whatever you have. Boneless breasts will take less time to cook. But breasts on the bone will usually stay juicier. Get some lemon pepper & salt and season the first side of your chicken.

You can be generous with the lemon pepper. Put the seasoned side of your chicken down in your pan, and while that side is searing, season the other side of the chicken. After a few minutes, the first side will be crusty (not burnt though!) so turn your chicken. At this point, I sliced up some lemon and squeezed the juice over the chicken, then put the lemon pieces in the pan with the chicken. Put the entire pan in the oven and cook 20-30 minutes or until the chicken is done.
(Don't mind my pizza stone--I forgot to take it out since making focaccia the other night!)

Ryan and I ate this with a simple tomato & cucumber salad, nothing else needed! Hope you enjoy :)

Friday Happy Hour: Scarlett O'Hara's Summer Breeze

I know I'm a little early on this post, but I'm leaving for the UK tonight and won't be able to post this tomorrow.

Some of you may know that I'm (slowly) making my way through Gone with the Wind on my Kindle for iPhone. I have a feeling that Scarlett O'Hara sat around on her porch sipping sweet tea and wondering what her life was all about. So this cocktail is inspired by her.

Scarlett O'Hara's Summer Breeze
2 ounces sweet tea vodka
lemonade (Today I cheated and bought Publix-brand lemonade, since I can't stand the lemonade that the soda companies make, but if you have the time, make some from scratch, it'll just make this drink that much better!)

Mix both over ice and garnish with a lemon. How easy is that?? And it tastes just like an Arnold Palmer--truly delicious.

Valentine's Day Cocktail--Pomegranate Champagne Punch

So I've been super busy this week, and didn't get a chance to write the usual Friday Happy Hour Cocktail....so instead, I'll write one that you can share with your honey on Valentine's Day. I made this one for Christmas and it was delish!

For a larger batch you can double this.

Pomegranate Champagne Punch
1/4 cup water + 1/4 cup sugar: make simple syrup (if you've forgotten, check out this blog to remind yourself!)
1 750-ml bottle champagne, chilled
3/4 cup white rum
5/8 cup pomegranate juice
1 lemon, sliced
pomegranate seeds
chopped mint leaves

Make sure all your liquids are chilled, and mix together. If you want, you can create some ice cubs with chunks of lemon or pomegranate seeds or mint leaves in them to keep your punch cold while you're serving it.

Check out this website if you need help getting the seeds out of your pomegranate.

I didn't take a picture when I made this for Christmas, but here's a pic I stole from Bon Appetit (where I found the recipe):

Enjoy!

Friday Happy Hour: Lemon Drop Martinis

It's Friday again, and that means it's cocktail time!

I truly love martinis, perhaps a little too much (judging from some of my behavior after a few). But a martini at the usual bar is at least $10, more if you're at a ritzy place! A few of those plus tip, and there goes a nice chunk of your weekly paycheck. My solution (as always): make them at home. Today I decided to make Lemon Drop Martinis, because who doesn't LOVE lemonade? Especially the kind you get at the fair with all the sugar at the bottom. And a Lemon Drop is basically the grown up version of lemonade. It's delicious, and made with four ingredients. How easy is that?

Lemon Drop Martini
1 1/2 ounces citrus vodka
1/2 ounce triple sec
3/4 ounce fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 teaspoon superfine sugar
Rim: lemon juice & sugar

First, a word on the superfine sugar. You really want to use superfine sugar. If not, the sugar won't dissolve, and you'll end up with sugar crystals at the bottom of your drink. When you make things at home, you want them to come as close as possible to the "real thing" you get out at a restaurant or bar, or else, it won't be as appealing to stay in. So, go to the sugar aisle at your grocery store and pick up a small contain of the superfine sugar. It'll set you back a couple bucks, but make a huge difference in the final product. This is the only kind I found at Publix today, but if you can't find "superfine" look for "extra fine".

By now, you know I'm big on the 'use whatever you have at home' bit, which is totally true 99.999% of the time. The sugar is one where you need to get the right thing. For the vodka, well, that's up to you. But I just want you guys to know that I REALLY care about you all, so I made and taste-tested two lemon drops: one with regular vodka and one with citrus vodka (I know, it's a real rough life I live, huh?). Turns out, the one made with the citrus vodka did taste more lemony, which I liked. So if you have it, use it, if not, no worries, but next time you're at the liquor store, pick up a little (or large) bottle of the citrus vodka just to have on hand. It'll come in handy, I promise. Citrus vodka makes cosmos and vodka-cranberries taste better too. :)

Break out your cute martini glasses again, and juice and sugar the rims. I find if you let them sit a few minutes after that to "dry" it makes things easier, and you don't have sugar dripping down your glass. Officially, you're supposed to use a lemon peel twist as a garnish, but for all the gadgets I have in my kitchen, I do not have one of those fancy tools (come to find out it's called a citrus zester) that creates the pretty peel twists. So, in lieu, I just cut a thin slice of lemon and put that in.

When you go to shake this bad boy up, I put all the liquid in first so I could shimmy around the sugar with the liquid to help get it dissolved first. Add the ice, and shake away! Pour into your rimmed martini glass, and enjoy.